I've wanted to get a new garden patio set for a while now as we have had ours for almost 7 years! It had rusted loads as we've never covered it in the garden and it was starting to look really scruffy. Patio sets can vary in price from few hundred pounds down to around £60 for a cheaper set or you can think about respraying your old set. Our seats hadn't worn at all,so we decided to try and respray the rusty metal frame as we love a good DIY, especially garden DIY when the weathers nice!WARNING!! This post is extremely picture heavy ...

As you can see from the pictures above, our garden set was so rusty and in need of some TLC. We started this DIY project by taking all the chairs and table apart so that we could work with the metal frame without the seat material getting ruined.

Once the set was all in pieces, we then took a pack of sandpaper ,some protective gloves and our dust masks and started to sand the rust down on the metals frame. We didn't have to do this step necessarily but there where a few rough and bubbly patches of rust which we didn't want to show through the spray paint.

Hammerite where very kind and sent us a voucher for 4 cans of their smooth Direct To Rust Metal Spray Paint* in which ever colour we wanted. Their range has a total of 8 shades, Black, White, Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Gold and silver. Which each come in either hammered or smooth finish. We chose the smooth finish and in the silver shade as we thought that would look best with the black seat material.

These photos where taken after one coat on each side of the patio set. The coverage of the Hammerite spray is fantastic and we where shocked at how well it covered the rust in only one coat. The cans say to apply 3-4 coats for best coverage but we only did 2 coats on each side to complete the whole process.

As you can see the rust has been completely covered and as Hammerite is Primer, colour and top coat all in the one can, there's no need to buy anymore primers etc. I'm so pleased with how the Hammerite has re finished out patio set and I couldn't be more shocked at only using 2 coats each side!!

We put the chairs and table back together and put the black seat material back onto the chairs also and we couldn't get over how amazing the set looks! After months of complaining about it looking rubbish in the garden all rusty and having to crop it out of my Instagram photos, I can now finally sit proud on my patio set thanks to Hammerites Direct to Rust Spray!

Then finished results of the Hammerite Direct to rust spray* is so amazing and the patio set looks brand new! Everyone who has seen it so far is shocked at the finish and I can't recommend Hammerite enough! The can vary in price, ours where from B&Q which I think cost around £12 a can but you can find them much cheaper in Wilkos and Halfords.

Again, I am so happy with the finished resprayed patio set and recommend it to anyone who would like to spruce up any old metal items in the garden! Its so easy to use and dries so quickly! All we have left to finish on the set is the screws as they are still a tad rusty from where they were removed to take the set apart, so we will touch those up with the spray soon.

Our next DIY project is a Garden Pallet Corner Sofa! I've seen these all over Pinterest and need to make our own ASAP! Let the hunt for pallets commence :)

What do you think if our new refinished garden patio set? Let me know if you have any garden DIY projects planned for this summer, I'd love to hear about them in the comments?

Thanks for reading!

*This post contains products sent for review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Little Ondine where a brand I hadn't heard much of but as soon as I spotted their shade range on their website I knew I had to try them! The Little Ondine polish is so unique, boasting a quick drying time, no harmful chemicals, an odourless formula which is peelable it sounded perfect for changing up your nail polish quickly and easily. Little Ondine sent me one of their full size polishes and two mini polishes which are cleverly packaged together from the 'Twins' range.

I absolutely love the lime pastel green shade that is Midsummer*! Its perfect for summer and looks amazing on pale or tanned skin! Back to Black* is really shiny and not so perfect for summer but black nails are timeless and classic. So you all know by now that I'm a huge Glitter nails fan so Radiance* looked to become one of my all time favs, with flecks of multi coloured glitter I knew it would look stunning over the black and green polishes.

The packaging I love also as its a cute little cardboard outer box which folds out and on each of the sides is the 'how to apply' and the 'About me' which being a graphic designer, I really like the use of space on the packaging, not cluttered just super simple and professional looking! And the twins polishes both click into a joint lid style packaging which looks great and is an innovative idea.

The formula on the other hand, this is where I'm stuck. The polishes have a kind of gloopy, PVA glue ish consistency, with the black polish being more watery than the others. The green takes around 3 thin coats to give full opaque coverage and the black is one simple coat.

It dries super quick which is great and looks shiny but within 15 minutes of painting my nails with the green on a few different occasions, the polish started to peel at the edges. This is really frustrating as you don't spend time painting your nails for it to peel off before an hour has passed. I know its a peelable polish but this is so that you can enjoy a few days wear of one shade and then easily remove it without needing nail polish remover, not to peel by itself almost immediately.

Obviously I have tried this polish over the last month a few times to see if it was my fault that it peeled so quickly. I've re followed the how to steps and cleaned my nails prior to application to remove any natural oils which may be effecting the polish. I have even buffed and cleaned them to help the polish adhere better to my nails and each time within the same hour of application, the polish has started to lift at the edges and peel off.

I have also tried sandwiching the Little Ondine polishes between two layers of gel polish and curing it once dry in the LED lamp but still the gel didn't even stop it peeling. Their website does say do not mix their polish with any other brands but gel polishes I always use with regular polish with no issues.

These pictures are after its peeled slightly at the edges and I've lifted it so you can see for image purposes what I'm trying to explain. I've also researched other reviews online and no one else seams to be mentioning this issue so I'm now totally confused to what's happened with my polishes?

I love the look of my nails using the Midsummer polish but it just does not last which is such a shame. I'm gutted the polish is for me a let down as I would be raving about it now if the formula lasted on my nails. The odourless element is amazing for doing nails when travelling as the smell of nail polish can be offensive at times so I loved that. I also think the shade range is phenomenal, the packaging looks fantastic but unfortunately for me I am unable to use this polish unless 10 minutes of wear is required, which we all know is never the case.

I'm not one for negative reviews but I am honest here on my blog and I wouldnt pretend this polish worked for me as it really didn't.

Have you tried Little Ondine? Let me know how you got on with it in the comments please, I'd love to know?

Finally after 4 months away from making sit down YouTube videos, I'm Back and kicking things off with a HUGE current favourites video! From Makeup to Tea and Trainers, I share all my most loved products and items of the moment. I hope you all enjoy, Let me know what your current favs are in the comments :) Thanks for watching!Sophiex

Disclaimer - I am not being sponsored or payed by any company to mention products in my videos and all products mentioned have been bought with my own money. Any products marked with an * are products I have been sent to review and I have given my honest opinion of any products mentioned. I am not affiliated with any companies or brands mentioned in this video.

Primark is always amazing for completely giving your wardrobe an overhaul when the seasons change as its on trend and cheap! I'm in desperate need for new summer clothes now as the weather has changed drastically and there is now no need for jumpers and sweatshirts anymore which is great! Winter and spring were so long this year it was starting to feel like we were never going to see some sunny weather!

I'm loving the fact that Primark has a products preview section now on their website so I don't have to venture into town for a window shop! I've spotted loads online which I cannot wait to pick up when I'm next in store. From band Tee's to dungarees, summer dresses and even a cute new backpack for picnics in the park, I cannot wait to add these items to my summer wardrobe!

As you all know, I'm becoming quite the tea connoisseur...well not really but I am having a fantastic time trying to find the BEST tea range available and I think I'm getting a real taste for it!

When this beautiful parcel arrived a few weeks back, I just knew they where going to be amazing tea's as you could smell them from outside the cardboard packaging! I swiftly unpacked the parcel to find the most stunning Tea's from a brand called NEWBY.

I will link here to NEWBY's website for you to find out all about them and also link below a video from their chairman at NEWBY TEA for you to all see how passionate they are about making the FINEST TEA....

I cannot wait to tell you all about the tea but first lets address the packaging! WOW,isn't it stunning! I have a real thing for great packaging as its so important to represent your brand and product and this packaging so far wins out of ALL the tea brands I've tried EVER and that is a big statement! Its just beautiful, The outer packaging is keeping a sleek modern look whilst the inner individually packaged tea bags are full of character. Now I know that's a strange thing to say when talking about tea bag packaging but just look at them...its phenomenally printed and keeps the tea bags so fresh in the individual sealed packages. I received a full box of 15 Silken Pyramids in the Strawberry & Mango Tisane flavor and two exclusive taster packs which featured their English Breakfast Black Tea, Jasmine Princess Green Tea,The Strawberry & Mango Tisane, Rooibos Orange, Peppermint Tisane and Earl Grey Black Tea. The Exclusive Taster packs come also with a little NEWBY Tea booklet showcasing all their teas with a beautiful array of pictures to compliment their tea and accessory range. (shown above)

I couldn't believe my eyes when I pulled out the tea bag from the triple layer alu-foil! The tea was like none I'd ever seen before. It wasn't all crushed down and powdery, it was just perfect as you can see below! AND in a Silken Pyramid bag, This tea really is luxury from the packaging and the tea bag to the tea itself! It really is what I imagine royalty having for afternoon tea its that good!

I haven't tasted all of the tea's yet but the Rooibos Orange is so intriguing, its a red bush tea but its infused with a kick of orange peel, orange flavor andliquorice. The Earl grey is quite the cup of tea, and was thoroughly enjoyed by my mum and the English breakfast tea, Craig said was one of the best tea's he has tasted.

The Strawberry & Mango Tisane* are the ones I've enjoyed the most as they are so exquisite! I'm running out of adjectives a bit now but trust me, Ive tasted a load of fruit teas recently and these are a MUST try! I brewed my tea bag for 6 minutes in boiling hot water and the scent in the room was incredible! Craig commented on how amazing the smell was as they smell quite bubblegum like but not sickly if that makes sense. I think its because these teas don't just feature strawberry and mango pieces, they are also Apple, rosehips, hibiscus, beetroot and papaya.

I'm yet to try them iced but I cannot wait to try this recipe above! Its so simple and will be perfect for boiling hot summer days when a refreshing cup of iced Tisane in either Strawberry & Mango or Rooibos Orange is all you need!

NEWBY TEA have been amazing and have given my readers a 10% Discount code when you enter SOPHIEJ10 at checkout. I am not getting paid commission on any sales made using this code, its just for you all to enjoy these beautiful tea's with a nice little discount :) This code is valid until the 1st July so be sure to make the most of the discount before its gone!